Here are the high school basketball teams holding court in the Sacramento region
All area high school basketball teams have started league action. Some leagues have been especially strong in the early going.
The Sacramento Bee breaks down the league races:
Boys basketball
Delta League
Led by Bee No. 1 Sheldon, the Delta includes the Huskies (10-2) and other ranked teams in No. 3 Jesuit (9-3), No. 5 Davis (11-1), No. 9 Elk Grove (12-2) and No. 10 Franklin (9-6).
It’s still Sheldon’s race to lose. The Huskies welcome back Marcus Bagley this week after the Arizona State-bound star missed the last holiday tournament due to injury. Sheldon has the area’s deepest and most experienced team, having won the past two CIF NorCal Open Division championships.
Guard play has been strong for Sheldon in the past and now with Xavion and Xavier Brown, Dontrell Hewlett, Josh Williams and others.
The Huskies play their first home game and first game in Northern California on Wednesday, a league opener at Franklin. Another top player in this league is Jesuit guard Isa Silva, who holds various Power 5 scholarship offers.
Sierra Foothill League
Like the Delta, the SFL is loaded with contenders and talent. No. 2 Whitney (15-1) is enjoying its best start in school history and looms as the early favorite to dethrone defending champion Folsom. The Wildcats are a senior-based group led by Callan Ferriera, Caveli Hensley, Ryan King and Dom Spence.
Other contenders include No. 11 Folsom, led by Tiler Fears, Malik Rose and Cameron Wall. No. 13 Oak Ridge will rely on guard Tommy Ball, while No. 15 Rocklin will lean on four-year varsity guard Darrius Kendall.
Capital Athletic League
No. 4 Capital Christian headlines the CAL as the defending champion. Despite a 7-6 nonleague record, the Cougars have played a national schedule under first-year coach Matt Filer. Guard Caden Flowers and post Frederick Chico-Lewis will be key for the Cougars.
Rio Americano (11-4) recently won the Kendall Arnett Tournament at Placer behind tournament MVP Mitchell Dixon, who recently signed with UC Davis to play quarterback. Christian Brothers (9-7) could also be a contender, coming off an overtime loss to Jesuit.
Capital Valley Conference
No. 14 Woodcreek opened CVC play with a 69-60 victory over crosstown rival and defending league champion Roseville behind 15 points from guard Alec Garcia. The Timberwolves are led by second-year coach Drew Hibbs, who had a championship stint at Foothill.
No. 17 Inderkum (9-4) is led by guard Branden Rutherford, who transferred from Jesuit, and wing Xavier Cates. Antelope (10-6), which had a disappointing run last season, is looking promising under first-year head coach Mike Dresser. The Titans have also been fueled by guards Jaden Henderson and Anthony Sierras.
Metro League
The Metro league appears to be a four-team race. No. 7 Grant (12-3), No. 8 Monterey Trail, No. 12 Burbank and Kennedy (10-7) all played tough preseason schedules. Grant is led by star guard Corey Yerger, who has averaged 22.6 points. Burbank has been paced by Tyree Gill has averaged 19.6 points. The Pacers open league play with Burbank on Tuesday.
Monterey Trail Freshman Varick Lewis leads the league in scoring with 24 points per game.
Girls basketball
Metro League
No. 2 McClatchy suffered its first loss of the season to California High School of San Ramon Valley, but has otherwise excelled behind defense and depth.
Samaya Beatty, Imani Felix and Kayla Fermil have been the leading scorers for the Lions (15-1), who open league play with Kennedy on Wednesday. Laguna Creek is ranked No. 5 by The Bee and is led by talented sophomore guards Ahrray Young and Zoe Tillery. The Cardinals open league play against Monterey Trail (11-1) on Wednesday. The Mustangs have talented guards in Anaya Mejia and Arionna Jackson.
Capital Valley Conference
Top-ranked Antelope sits at 11-2 heading into league play and has yet to lose to a Sacramento area team. The two losses came to Kamehameha Kapalama of Hawaii and Oakland Tech.
Antelope is led by national recruit Jzaniya Harriel, The Bee’s Player of the Year last season and a member of The Bee’s All-Decade Team. The Titans host Bella Vista on Tuesday. No. 3 Woodcreek (14-3) is enjoying its best season in years and opened CVC play with a 40-36 victory over Roseville behind 14 points by Eden Perry.
Foothill Valley League
No. 8 Placer (12-2) opens FVL play against 10-6 Nevada Union on Jan. 15. The Hillmen already have an overtime victory over No. 14 Lincoln, which is also 12-2. Placer best Lincoln at the Chavez Christmas Classic, where Michelle Chamberlin, Baylor Herlehy and Taryn Ryan earned all-tournament honors. The first league meeting between Lincoln and Placer will be Jan. 28 in Auburn.
Sierra Foothill League
The SFL is wide open. No. 4 Oak Ridge, No. 6 Folsom, No. 9 Del Oro, No. 12 Granite Bay and No. 16 Rocklin are all capable of winning it. The lone team not ranked, Whitney (5-11), has played one of the toughest schedules in the area. The league’ s leading scorer, according to MaxPreps, is Del Oro’s Maddy Parry at 16.1 points per game. Parry broke the school record for rebounds last month. Defending champion Folsom opens with Rocklin on Jan. 10.
Capital Athletic League
Christian Brothers (17) and Vista del Lago are the only ranked teams by The Bee from the CAL. However, Capital Christian (8-8), Sacramento (4-8) and Rio Americano (7-4) are all on the bubble and could join the league title race. Sacramento has dominated the league since joining in 2018 and played a national non-conference schedule. Capital Christian’s Malie Williams leads the league in scoring with 22.1 points per outing.
Delta League
The lone ranked team from the Delta is Franklin at No. 10. However, the Delta league is wide open. St. Francis (7-7) and Sheldon (11-6) are both bubble teams and the defending champion, Cosumnes Oaks, could play themselves into the race. The league’s leading scorer is St. Francis’s Mia Fleming-Mullins, who is averaging 16.7 points per game.
The Sacramento Bee’s Top 20 basketball teams
This season’s records in parentheses.
Boys
1. Sheldon (10-2)
2. Whitney (15-1)
3. Jesuit (10-3)
4. Capital Christian (7-6)
5. Davis (11-1)
6. Vanden (10-4)
7. Grant (12-3)
8. Monterey Trail (9-5)
9. Elk Grove (13-2)
10. Franklin (10-6)
11. Folsom (11-5)
12. Burbank (12-5)
13. Oak Ridge (9-5)
14. Woodcreek (14-3)
15. Rocklin (13-4)
16. Vacaville (10-3)
17. Inderkum (9-4)
18. Rio Americano (11-4)
19. Del Campo (12-4)
20. Oakmont (11-2)
Bubble teams (listed alphabetically): Antelope (10-6), Bradshaw Christian (11-6) Christian Brothers (9-7); Cosumnes Oaks (10-5), Del Oro (9-9), El Dorado (12-4), Florin (11-4), Kennedy (10-7), Lincoln (12-5), Ponderosa (10-7), Sacramento (5-5), Wood (11-4).
Girls
1. Antelope (11-2)
2. McClatchy (15-1)
3. Woodcreek (14-3)
4. Oak Ridge (11-4)
5. Laguna Creek (14-1)
6. Folsom (11-3)
7. Vanden (12-2)
8. Placer (12-2)
9. Del Oro (9-5)
10. Franklin (12-4)
11. West Campus (8-2)
12. Granite Bay (11-5)
13. Colfax (12-4)
14. Lincoln (13-2)
15. Monterey Trail (11-1)
16. Rocklin (11-6)
17. Christian Brothers (8-6)
18. Bear River (8-0)
19. Vista del Lago (9-6)
20. Grant (11-6)
Bubble teams (listed alphabetically): Capital Christian (8-8), Forest Lake Christian (11-4), Inderkum (9-5), Nevada Union (10-6), Pioneer (14-3), Rio Americano (7-4), River Valley (10-6), Sacramento (4-8), Sheldon (11-6), St. Francis (7-7).
This story was originally published January 6, 2020 at 1:44 PM.